E-LEARNING, A SAFE EDUCATION FREE FROM CORONAVIRUS
By: Jaeyi Kim (Student of Grade 7 Sinarmas World Academy)
As the COVID-19 restrains individuals from being in a packed area together, schools encourage students to conduct social distancing through e-learning sessions at home.
In order to slow down the reduction of the rapid growth of the number of infectees, an effective social distancing is required. An act of minimizing contacts with people, social distancing can also be referred to as voluntary self-quarantine for an emergency. E-learning, which is learning through electronic media, is an effective method of social distancing.
To avoid situations with frequent contact with other packed situations, some schools in Indonesia have recently introduced e-learning to their curriculum. Sinarmas World Academy, a school located in South Tangerang City, is a school that has adopted e-learning. By using links to Google Meet, an interface that allows live chatting, screen sharing, and attendance-tracking, teachers are able to divide students into their respective classes. Whilst pre-school students can learn through recorded videos sent to parents, primary and secondary students learn directly through live communication interfaces. A timetable optimized for self-oriented learning has also been made and followed.
A prominent advantage of e-learning is that studying can be personalized and time can be used more effectively. By explaining assigned tasks and giving time to complete them individually, some may discuss and run through the tasks first, while some may run through one question at a time. By following one’s preferences, e-learning can effectively increase the efficiency of self-oriented studying. For instance, my friend and I could boost our concentration by following our own studying tactic. While I solved problems first and sought explanations when stuck, my friend read the explanations first then solved all the problems. As I identified and compared different studying tactics, I could gradually unveil the true joy of studying.
“I think that e-learning sessions teach students to bring up integrity and responsibility. Even though I can daydream behind my muted mic and turned-off screen, I always try to absorb every second of the lessons.” A seventh-grader complimented on the passion of the teachers. Connecting screens to online sketchpad and educational resources, teachers passionately bring their teaching into visuals and boost efficiency.
If there is an improvement needed for e-learning,it is the communication part. Despite being able to communicate ‘face to face’ (online), it is harder to connect emotions and atmospheres, which might lead to frequent misunderstandings. Besides, teachers need to explore their new ideas to make their lessons to be attractive for the students. Furthermore, as the camera and microphones are, at times, turned off, students may lose their concentration and lose track of their progress.
Despite its challenging methods, Mrs. Young Mi Lee, a Korean school parent, commented, “Teachers and students can connect together without any wall. The SWA faculties are reliable and well prepared, ensuring that all students are effectively led throughout the lessons.” Hopes are that all schools can achieve an organized and coordinated e-learning curriculum.
